After John Kimmich’s wife, Jennifer, was diagnosed with celiac disease, the Vermont brewer (from Alchemist) decided to make her a flavorful craft beer. For this Belgian-inspired saison, John relied on sorghum syrup, Curaçao orange peel, and Celia hops to create a crisp, tart beer drinker with a peppery and citrusy profile. (Note: Though brand rights were sold to Massachusetts’s Ipswich, the recipe remains unchanged.)

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At its most basic, beer is composed of four core ingredients. Equipped with water, hops, yeast, and barley, brewers can send beer into thousands of flavorful directions. For many people, however, beer is not a pleasure but a source of pain. The culprit is gluten, which is several different proteins found in cereal grains such as rye, spelt, and barley. Most people easily digest gluten. But for millions of American suffering from celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder, ingesting gluten causes wrenching stomach pain and cramping.

Brewers, however, do not want to deny anyone the pleasure of a cold beer. To create beers suited for celiacs, as well as people suffering from gluten sensitivities and dietary restrictions, ingenious brewers have begun experimenting with alternative grains and grasses such as sorghum, buckwheat, rice, and millet. The result is gluten-free brews as flavorful as anything found in the craft-beer aisle.

Here are 12 of our favorite gluten-free beers (updated as of July 21, 2014). You won’t know what you’re missing.

After John Kimmich’s wife, Jennifer, was diagnosed with celiac disease, the Vermont brewer (from Alchemist) decided to make her a flavorful craft beer. For this Belgian-inspired saison, John relied on sorghum syrup, Curaçao orange peel, and Celia hops to create a crisp, tart beer drinker with a peppery and citrusy profile. (Note: Though brand rights were sold to Massachusetts’s Ipswich, the recipe remains unchanged.)